


nothing my thumbs press will ever be heard.

by hiveblood



Series: that one au where everything's the same but they all have phones [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everything's the same but they all have cell phones, Gen, Written for the Invincible server's Ancient Problems Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:06:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22444543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiveblood/pseuds/hiveblood
Summary: bruno isn't responding to any of her texts, but it's fine, really. she's sure he's just busy, or something.or, bruno ghosts veronica by accident for months on end, and veronica makes bad decisions as a result.
Relationships: Bruno | Zacharias & Veronica
Series: that one au where everything's the same but they all have phones [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619941
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	nothing my thumbs press will ever be heard.

bruno wasn’t answering her texts. it wasn’t unprecedented- veronica’s brother often took a long time to answer his phone, and reception could vary greatly from world to world. 

however, she could really use his guidance right now. 

the tempest that she and loki had unleashed had been tamed by the order of heroes ( of course it had, they  _ always _ ruined her fun ) but...despite her irritation, there was a lingering sense of unease. like she’d just made a horrible mistake.

she unlocked her phone again and opened up her text messages. still no reply. veronica chewed the inside of her cheek, then typed out another text and sent it. 

VERONICA.: brother. please reply as soon as you are able. i need your advice.

* * *

fine. she was fine! veronica was fine, actually.

she was sure it was all a mistake. that bruno wasn’t actually ignoring her; that he hadn’t just gotten sick of her and left, leaving her behind just like everyone else. she had gone over it again and again with xander, and he had reasoned with her more irrational fears. 

they had to be irrational fears. they  _ had  _ to be. 

veronica sighed, flopping down on her bed. her crown and shoes had been discarded, thrown haphazardly on the floor; the princess rolled over and unlocked her phone, staring at a wall of her own messages, the last one having been sent a week ago. she had promised herself she wouldn’t send another, wouldn’t let herself seem any more desperate than she had already made herself out to be in previous messages. 

she squinted against the harsh light of her phone in her dark and dreary room, and turned it to the much more palatable nightlight mode, and turned the brightness all the way down. that was much better. 

another moment of staring at sent messages, and veronica closed out of it, instead seeking out a distraction. a familiar tune played as the game loaded, and she- ah. three of her manakete knights had managed to recapture her gym. again. 

a huff left her, and veronica prepared her team for the process of taking it back once more.

* * *

loki’s sharp nails dug into her shoulder as she directed veronica around as they walked through the halls of surtr’s castle. either she was being taken to be killed right now, or she was being kept somewhere far nicer than the dungeon, because the wing of that castle that loki was leading her through now seemed like any other normal wing of the castle. 

and sure enough, when loki did stop and show veronica into where she’d be kept until the time was right, it was a normal room.

when veronica turned to question this, loki’s only response was to toss the princess her phone, which had been confiscated when they left askr and veronica had been formally taken prisoner. her expression showing her growing confusion, veronica opened her mouth to speak when loki once  _ again  _ interrupted her.

“we wouldn’t want you to get bored, now would we?” she said, in that patronizing tone of hers that made veronica’s skin crawl. 

“you realize i can just call for help, right?” veronica countered. 

“from who? xander, who’s probably bleeding out in the middle of nowhere back in askr? your army, who’s now under surtr’s control? or your brother, who hasn’t spoken to you in months?” loki said with a smirk. “do tell me, your highness; who is coming to save you?”

veronica could not respond, because admitting the answer would be too painful, clear as it was. no one was coming to save her.

* * *

VERONICA.: brother, i think i’m going to die today.  
VERONICA.: it’s my fault, i know. to have listened to loki at all was a mistake.  
VERONICA.: but brother...i don’t want to die.  
VERONICA.: even if i’m alone and unloved, i don’t want to die.  
VERONICA.: i’m so scared, brother.  
VERONICA.: ylgr- a princess of nifl- and i are going to try to escape today.  
VERONICA.: it’s either that or be used for the rite of flames.  
VERONICA.: if i do die, i don’t want to be a sacrificial lamb.  
VERONICA.: goodbye, bruno.

* * *

“h-hey, it’s alright,” bruno said, awkwardly patting the top of his sister’s head as she bawled into his shoulder. he could feel everyone’s eyes on him, in that moment. the order of heroes, the niflese royalty, what remained of múspell’s troops- no one made an effort to conceal the fact that the wailing princess of embla was the center of attention right now.

“no!” veronica said, pounding her fists against his back. “it’s not alright! you don’t answer me for months and months and months, and then you just show up and it’s  **_not_ ** alright! i thought you hated me! i thought you left me all alone!”

“didn’t answer you?” bruno asked, his confusion clear. 

“your _**phone**_ , bruno!” she said, face red from crying and from anger. “you haven’t answered your phone in months!”

understanding dawned on him then. “ah.” 

“is that it? just ‘ah’?” she demanded, wiping away the last of her tears.

“veronica, i...sirius stepped on my phone and broke it not long after i left. i didn’t mean to ignore you, i just...never went to replace it. i figured you wouldn’t need me,” he answered, voice softer now.

his answer at once placated and perplexed her. for the life of her, veronica couldn't imagine the aloof archanean hero stomping on her brother's phone just for no reason. “sirius? sir sirius stomped on your phone?”

“ah- no, sirius is the name of my horse,” bruno admitted, with no small amount of embarrassment. 

veronica let out a long breath. she wasn’t nearly as angry anymore, but in its place she felt exhaustion. 

“you should have come home when it happened.”

“i know.”

“i’m still upset.”

“i know.”

a beat of silence. 

“veronica, i...don’t know  _ how  _ to be a big brother. i’ve never been one before you called me back to embla. but...i’m trying. i can’t promise i’ll always be around, but i won’t just abandon you. i promise.”

she merely nodded in reply. it wasn't what she really wanted- what she _wanted_ was a brother who would stay by her side, who wouldn't leave her for months on end. but what she had was bruno. bruno, who could barely stand to stay in the castle, who told her nothing of his past, not even his time as prince before his exile. bruno, who didn't trust her. 

bruno, who taught her how to ride a horse. who gave her books from faraway worlds. who, despite everything, saved her today. 

"okay," she said quietly. "okay." 

**Author's Note:**

> as i said in the tags, this was originally written for the Ancient Problems zine that the Invincible Zine server did! I had a lot of fun, and would recommend checking out their twitter, @InvincibleZine.  
> anyways, let me know what you think! you can also find me on twitter at @valorskills!


End file.
